Question

If a right triangle has a leg that measures 5 inches and the hypotenuse is 13 inches, how long is the other leg? Round to the nearest tenth, if necessary

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

To find the length of the other leg of the right triangle, we can use the Pythagorean theorem, which states that in a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (c) is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides (a and b).

In this case, we know that one leg measures 5 inches and the hypotenuse measures 13 inches, so we can label the leg as 'a' and the other leg as 'b'.

Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can write the equation as follows:

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

Plugging in the given values, we have:

5^2 + b^2 = 13^2

25 + b^2 = 169

Subtracting 25 from both sides, we get:

b^2 = 144

Taking the square root of both sides, we get:

b ≈ √144

b ≈ 12

So, the other leg of the right triangle measures approximately 12 inches.